Where Do I Belong?
by PenAndInkPrincess
Summary: What would happen if Ahiru thought Fakir didn't love her anymore? One-shot...my first actually!


**Hey guys! This is my first fanfic, so please let me know what you think! As it is my first fanfic, I thought I should do something near and dear to my heart: PRINCESS TUTU! Please enjoy!**

"BurrINGGGG!"

"Ack!" Ahiru flipped out of her bed and groaned when she hit the floor…face first. "Stupid floor…" she muttered, rubbing her nose.

"Hey! Are you ready yet? We're going to be late!" Fakir banged on her door and she shot a look towards the wood.

"I'm not ready yet…my alarm went off late for some reason! Why didn't you wake me up?"

"Idiot! You need to learn to be up by yourself! I'm going on ahead!"

"Gr…" Ahiru jumped to her feet and threw on her clothes in a blurring whirlwind of red hair. When she was dressed, and her hair was…not a bush…she flew out the door, calling a quick "goodbye!" to Charon on the way out. Fakir stepped out of his room, chuckling. He was still not dressed. It was, after all, Saturday.

They were planning a surprise party for Ahiru, because it had been decided to celebrate her birthday on that day, December 12th. The school was a good 45 minutes away either direction, even at a running pace, so it gave them plenty of time to set up.

"That was really quite awful of you," Charon chided his adopted son. But despite himself, he couldn't help but smile.

Oblivious to the fact that she had been tricked, Ahiru continued to race towards the Academy. It had been one year since Fakir had written the story that turned Ahiru back to a girl, and since then, she had moved into Charon's house and become like a daughter to the man. But she and Fakir still fought constantly, much to her consternation.

Even after all this time, she still felt like she didn't belong. Sure, she had friends, but in a dark corner of her mind, a voice was always telling her, "you don't deserve this." And she couldn't help but agree. Who was she, she thought, that she got to defy the natural order of things and be a girl when she should be a duck? She couldn't think of anything she had done that was so great. She had tried to talk to Fakir about this, but he had brushed it off.

"You were Princess Tutu, idiot," he said, "you saved Gold Crown Town. So stop being stupid and just enjoy life!" She wrinkled her nose in remembrance. That was generally how their conversations went.

"Oh! But I can't think of that now! I'll be late!" She dashed forward even faster, remembering.

When she finally got to the Academy, her alarm increased two-fold. Where was everyone? She felt a growing knot of terror grow in her stomach as she threw on her ballet clothes and bolted towards her classroom.

She flung open the door and bowed, panting in great gasps of air. "I'm…so…so…sorry!" When she heard nothing, she looked up and felt her jaw drop. It was empty! Then she realized what had transpired and felt her blood boil in rage.

"FAKIR! YOU STUPID, STUPID, STUPID, BIG, FAT HEAD JERK!" Still seething, she walked back to the girl's locker room and changed back into her own clothes. When she was walking out of the Ballet Building, she bumped into Lillie who promptly grabbed her in a rib-crushing embrace.

"Oh! Ahiru! What happened? Why are you here?" She pulled back to look at Ahiru. Lillie's eyes grew as wide as saucers. "Ooooohhhh! I know what happened! You and Fakir fought and he kicked you out of his house so now you're wandering around the town looking for a place to stay because you can't go back there and now you're homeless and you came here looking for me to beg and plead on your knees to let you room with me! How tragic!" It all came out in a single, run-on sentence.

"Um…no, I-"

"It was really only a matter of time!" Lillie threw her forearm over her eyes in a dramatic pose.

"What…what do you mean by that?"

"Why," Lillie removed her hand and looked at Ahiru before saying bluntly, "did you really think Fakir would let you stay there forever? After all, what's so impressive about you? You're really plain and horrible in ballet…and your school work is below average. Oh, how delightfully disappointing! You were probably just a commodity to Fakir…someone to hold his interest for a little while…but now he's bored! Oh, poor, dear, dumb Ahiru!" Lillie went to hug Ahiru again, but Ahiru instead twisted out of the embrace. Lillie looked just a little too happy at Ahiru's sudden misery.

Ahiru spun and ran, blinking back tears. Could what Lillie said be true? It made sense…Fakir had been avoiding her lately, and not speaking to her as much. Was Fakir regretting his promise to stay beside her, and then his decision to make her a girl again? They argued so much…was he tired of it? And this morning…no! She wouldn't believe it until she had proof.

She ran back to Charon's house, and was about to open the door when a note caught her attention. It was scrawled in Fakir's clumsy script and said: "Ahiru-go away!" Ahiru blinked back tears of surprise and regret. Slowly, she backed up until she had reached the cobblestone pavement and she walked down the road, still in shock.

XXXXXXXX

The note on the door quavered in the wind, and a part that had been accidently folded beneath the rest came loose: "Don't come back in until 1:30!"

But Ahiru was already near the city gate, and missed the second part of the message.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Ahiru didn't come out of her stupor until, in her usual fashion, she tripped over feet and fell to the ground, flailing her arms in a desperate attempt to steady herself.

"Oof." She hit the ground with a solid thunk, and just lay there, lacking the will to get back up. She had nowhere to go now. She was no longer a duck…so her flock was out of the question. She was a girl…but she couldn't go back to Charon's, and the academy had no spare rooms. Even her loft had been filled.

The cold from the icy ground seeped into her body, stealing her warmth. From sheer discomfort, she decided to get back up. Not really caring where her journey ended, she trudged onwards into the woods, tears streaming down her face and freezing as blasts of icy air shocked her face. But the outer cold was no match for the loneliness inside of her heart.

XXXXXXXXX

As the clock ticked away on the mantle, Fakir tapped his fingers impatiently. He glanced out the window and noticed, to his alarm, that the sun was starting to set.

"Did you say something to her?" He glanced in annoyance at Rue, whose crimson eyes held both anger at him and concern for her friend. She and Mythos had managed to come, and were going to celebrate with them.

"Gr. It's just like her to be late to her own party," Fakir growled. But he couldn't help the growing dread in his gut. She would've been home by now normally. Had something happened?

"Maybe we should look for her as well." Mythos suggested. He, too, was worried for the girl who had saved both him and his princess.

"That's probably a good idea," Fakir agreed. He buckled his sword around his waist and stepped out into the frigid December air. He walked to the stable and saddled his horse, who neighed in protest at having to leave his warm barn. Mythos did likewise with Charon's horse.

"You should stay here, Rue," Mythos said, "in case she comes back." Rue nodded stiffly. It was evident that she wanted to disagree, but Charon had set out earlier, and it was a valid argument.

Mythos and Fakir set out in opposite directions, Fakir towards the Academy. He kept his eyes on sharp lookout for a flash of red hair, but no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't find her. So focused on his search, he almost missed the blonde fluff-ball in front of him until he heard a squeal and his horse reared backwards.

He leaned forward to prevent himself from toppling off of the horse and turned its head sideways so he could see what had spooked it. Before him was Ahiru's friend…was it Millie?…oh! Lillie! That was it!

"Oh! I could have been trampled and dead and Ahiru would have been soooooooo upset and everyone would have mourned and-"

"Have you seen Ahiru?" Fakir cut her off. Pike he didn't mind as much…but the blonde was a pest. She seemed surprised for a moment.

"Yes. She went that way…" she pointed towards the town gate leading to the lake and then the forest. "But why would you-"

Fakir turned his horse towards the direction and galloped towards the gate. He didn't wait for her to finish her sentence, his panic growing for Ahiru. Moron! The sun was almost completely down, casting long shadows in the evening gloom.

XXXXXXXXX

Ahiru knelt beside the frozen lake, forlorn. A sudden, frantic quacking sounded from the middle of the solid water. The girl squinted until her eyes found the source: an injured duck trapped in the middle of the ice. One of its wings was bent at an odd angle and it was stuck, unable to take off.

"Well. Even if I can't help myself, I can help my fellow duck!" She rose to her feet, her problems instantly forgotten in her burst of compassion for the helpless animal.

When she stepped out onto the ice, her feet skidded to opposite sides on the slick surface, but, gaining her bearings, she stepped forward. At the center of the lake, she discovered that the duck was not at all injured. In fact, when she got near it, it took off, leaving behind a single feather that floated down towards the earth.

She smiled, glad that it wasn't hurt after all and turned around, intending to head back towards the shore. Her smile faded though, when a sickening crack sounded under feet. The unstable ice lurched under her her, buckling and sending her down to one knee. A final snap, and her feet were no longer on solid ground. Ahiru was plunged into the dark, icy depths. The water was so frigid; it shocked the air from her lungs.

Her wool clothes absorbed the water, pulling her further beneath the surface. She desperately paddled, trying frantically to get back to the surface. But as the cold took its toll on her limbs, making her arms and legs lethargic, she began to accept that she might die. In some part of her mind, she wondered if Fakir would care, or if he would be relieved that he no longer had to take care of her.

As she started to black out, her eyes shutting in defeat, a strong arm encircled her waist, pulling her to the surface.

XXXXXXXXXX

As their heads broke the surface, Fakir dragged himself and the limp Ahiru onto the ice. He put his head to her chest and realized that she wasn't breathing. He began to attempt to resuscitate her, pushing down on her torso and blowing air into her lungs. Fakir kept this up until, finally, she coughed, and a torrent of water poured from her mouth. She continued to cough and Fakir supported her, turning her over so she could empty her lungs of all of the water. When finally no more water seemed to be forthcoming, he wrapped his coat (which he had flung off before diving in) around her quivering shoulders.

He picked her up in his arms and mounted his horse, placing Ahiru in front of him so he could hold her in place. Her body, against his, was even colder than the air and he attempted to pull her closer to share any body heat he could with her.

When he finally made it back to Charon's, Rue immediately whisked Ahiru off to change her into dry clothes. The young girl was then laid in front of the fireplace to warm her up as she slept. Fakir told Charon, Mythos, and Rue what he knew of what had happened after he, too, changed into dry clothes. It was decided unanimously that the birthday party should be postponed until the next day, as the guest of honor was currently unconscious.

Mythos and Rue left for their room at a nearby inn, and Charon went into the kitchen to put the cake away and put on a pot of food. Fakir knelt by Ahiru, brushing her wet hair from her face, and stroking her cheek with affection he would not have shown in the presence of others.

Ahiru finally stirred and groggily opened her eyes, peering up at Fakir disconcertedly.

"Fakir…what happened?"

"You fell through a lake and I had to save you…don't ever do that to me again."

"Oh. You saved me? But I thought…you were tired of me…?"

"What? Where did you hear that rubbish?"

"Lillie told-"

"Don't listen to Lillie," Fakir rolled his eyes, "because she just wants entertainment."

"So…you're not tired of me?"

"No." A blush began creeping up Fakir's cheeks. "I would never get tired of you."

Ahiru leaned forward and embraced a startled Fakir, who embraced her in turn, enveloping her in his arms. She sighed in contentment.

"Jerk."

"Idiot."

Ahiru smiled, and snuggled closer. No matter what happened, she was sure now. There is where she belonged: with Fakir.


End file.
